Société Générale

Syndication for the $3.2bn portion of Tata Steel’s $5.6bn borrowing is progressing well, with the deal already receiving $750m worth of commitments, said a banker. Nine banks have committed so far and a handful more are expected to join before close.

Three issuers from France, Belgium and Germany raised €2.5bn in the covered bond market this week, and another €1bn transaction was expected from a Finnish issuer on Friday. The deals were all remarkable for the fact that the funding levels set new records for all issuers as the ECB’s allocation continued to grow, squeezing out other investors.

Pulsant, the UK IT business services company, has syndicated leveraged loans backing its buy-out by Oak Hill Capital Partners.

Turbulence hit a subordinated debt market that seemed to be about to hit its stride this week, as deals from Deutsche Bank and Erste Group slumped in the secondary market straight after sale.

Commodity trader Mercuria signed its latest refinancing on November 18, with 28 banks joining during general syndication. Although the loan was oversubscribed by about 60%, Mercuria decided to cap the borrowing at its launch size of $1bn.

Publicis Groupe’s $3.5bn loan for acquisition of Sapient will have 10 relationship banks, led by Citigroup. Some banks with which Publicis previously had a banking relationship with are missing from the list.

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) may be a regular in the debt market, but it managed to reposition itself through its latest $1.5bn trade thanks to a first time guarantee from the parent. Such was the response from investors that it added a floating rate note during bookbuilding.

Commodity trader Mercuria signed its latest refinancing on November 18, with 28 banks joining during general syndication. Though the loan was oversubscribed by about 60%, Mercuria decided to cap the borrowing at its launch size of $1bn.

Mercialys, the French property company spun off from supermarkets group Casino, priced a €550m 8.3 year bond on Tuesday, in conjunction with a buyback offer for its €650m 2019 bond, to extend its debt maturity profile.

Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, the Spanish building and environmental services company, is close to reaching agreement with its creditors on a debt restructuring, according to a spokesman for the company.

China National Petroleum Corp is back in the market, launching a deal on the same day and sticking its formula of launching a multi-tranche trade in dollars but unlike previous trades that have used a keepwell agreement, the new bond will have a guarantee from the parent which has led to an upgrade from the ratings agencies.

United Asia Finance (UAF) has launched a HK$2bn ($258m) dual tranche loan into senior syndication with two banks. The borrower is making a rapid return to the loans market, having sealed its last financing as recently as April.